MLB 15: The Show Review: Grand Slam

MLB 15: The Show is a great baseball outing by learning from previous mistakes. It returns all modes along with the fundamental hitting, and pitching that made it the baseball series on the market. The newest additions are more about tuning the back end to make the experience more unison. The result is one of the best sports titles to release, and has the chance to become the baseball equivalent to NFL 2K.

The fundamentals of the Road to The Show haven’t changed since it was first implemented. At this point it’s more about you deciding how committed want to be to your created avatar, but this time around you can bring your save over from last year’s installment. I transferred over my CY Young pitcher for the Pittsburg Pirates, and jumped right back where I left of.

Road to The Show is the best it has ever been

Pitching, and batting in The Show has received minor tweaks to make it more accessible. Before pitching was focused on getting strikeouts on limited pitches, but now it’s more realistic. You earn points on how you perform in a situation, and groundouts are equally as rewarding. This gave me the freedom to become the player on diamond that I want to be without restrictions. On the offensive side batting has been shifted to allow newcomers to the franchise to jump in, and play. It’s easier now to setup the strike zone to your disposal on the field. All together, this year’s installment of Road to The Show is the best it has ever been.

The presentation of The Show is fantastic, but it’s starting to show its age. The lighting has taken another leap forward making NL, and AL ballparks realistic looking. Load times have been reduced from last installment allowing to play a multiple games of Road to The Show in one session. It’s the little things that The Show does from cloud cover to night time games that make it one of the best looking games on the market.

The Show is due for a new team to take over the booth.

Matt Vasgersian, Eric Karros and Steve Lyons once again voice the game, and hopefully for the last time. New lines have been implanted, but the experience has grown stale. While the chemistry is there, The Show is due for a new team to take over the booth. In return a new radio show has been crafted to bridge the expected transition. It’s gives you division updates in between playing games in Road to The Show to keep you further informed about the season you’re currently embarking in created MLB superstar career. It’s essentially ESPN Radio without the on-air personalities.

The nucleus of The Show’s association mode is developed for the series’ core fans. Players are allowed to create the ball club of there choosing. You still have the option to develop talent through the minor league, or through MLB free agency. I found it easier to compete each year in the playoff by developing through free agency, and making trades because of the salary cap. Minor league talent took too long to develop, and just didn’t mesh with the direction I was heading in.

Diamond Dynasty, trading card mode similar to NBA 2K’S My Team, and Madden’s Ultimate Team mode, has been completely rebooted. In MLB 15, the menu design drives towards growing the mode by rewarding players with in-game currency in a The Show’s modes. In order to improve your team you can buy booster packs, or individual players through the in-game marketplace. Like you would expect you start off with a minor league with not much talent, but I didn’t take much time to put a respectful team on the field. Diamond mode is smartly implemented, and strengthens the rest of The Show’s core values, however player involvement post-launch will be tied to the game’s online stability that the series isn’t known for.

During launch I encountered error messages, and freezes that forced me to quit out the experience entirely. When it works you have to very patient due to the game client. I felt I was at a disadvantage playing offensive due to lag loading in mid-swing making the experience disjointed. Player vs. Player matches are more for the back of the box info than the main attraction.

MLB 15: The Show is collimation of the series learning from its mistakes, and pitching a complete game. This is easily one of the best sports games that I have played in the last five years. While the audio presentation can get in the way, the total package hits the ball out of the park.

MLB 15 The Show

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Pros

Road to The Show is the king of RPG Sports
In-depth franchise mode
Best looking PlayStation 4 game